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This article forms part of the CostaLuz Lawyers blog and is published for general informational and educational purposes only. It was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools and, before publication, was substantively reviewed and editorially approved by Maria de Castro, a Spanish-qualified lawyer registered with the Cádiz Bar Association under number 2745, founder of CostaLuz Lawyers and the person responsible for the editorial review of the published content.
This article does not constitute legal, tax, immigration, employment, estate-planning or investment advice and does not replace an individual assessment and the professional work of the appropriate CostaLuz Lawyers specialist. No action or omission should be based solely on this information.
If you have just signed a document to hold a Spanish property, check its name before you relax. A contrato de reserva (reservation contract) and a contrato de arras (deposit contract) are not the same thing, and they carry very different consequences if either side changes their mind. Here is how to tell which one you actually signed.
What a reserva contract actually is
A contrato de reserva is typically a short-term hold on a property — a few days to a few weeks — used while the buyer arranges financing, completes a survey, or gets a lawyer to review the title. Spanish law does not define a single standard “reserva” contract with fixed legal consequences. What happens if you or the seller change your mind depends entirely on the wording of that specific document: some reservation agreements are fully refundable if either party walks away, others are not.
What an arras contract actually is
An arras contract, specifically arras penitenciales under Article 1454 of the Spanish Civil Code, has clear, well-established statutory consequences. If the buyer withdraws, the buyer loses the deposit paid. If the seller withdraws, the seller must return double the deposit received. This is a real, long-standing mechanism in Spanish property law — not a formality, and not something either side can walk away from without a financial consequence. When you do get to completion, see what actually happens at the notary signing day.
Why the label on the document isn’t reliable
In practice, agents and developers sometimes call a document a “reserva” when its actual clauses function as arras penitenciales, or vice versa. What matters legally is what the contract’s clauses actually say, not the heading printed at the top of the page. This is the single most common source of confusion buyers bring to us: they believed they had a flexible, refundable reservation, and the clauses said otherwise.
How to tell which one you actually signed
- Does the document explicitly say what happens if either party withdraws before completion?
- Does it reference “arras,” “arras penitenciales,” or Article 1454 of the Civil Code?
- Is the deposit described as refundable unconditionally, or only under specific named conditions?
- Is there a fixed completion date, and a stated consequence for missing it?
If the answer to the first three is unclear from the wording, treat the document as if it were arras until a lawyer confirms otherwise — the financial exposure of guessing wrong runs into thousands of euros, not a formality to skip.
What to do before signing either
Have a Spanish property lawyer read the exact clauses before you sign, not after. This costs far less than discovering afterwards that a document you believed was a flexible reservation was in fact a binding arras contract with a real financial penalty attached.
Call us today on +34 919 499 342 or email marialuisa@costaluzlawyers.es before you sign a reserva or arras contract on a Spanish property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a reserva contract and an arras contract in Spain?
A reserva contract is a short-term hold with consequences defined entirely by its own wording, since Spanish law does not fix a standard reservation-contract format. An arras contract (arras penitenciales, Article 1454 Civil Code) has fixed statutory consequences: the buyer loses the deposit on withdrawal, the seller must return double.
If I signed a “contrato de reserva,” can I get my deposit back if I change my mind?
It depends entirely on the clauses in that specific document, not the title. Some reservation contracts are fully refundable; others function as arras in substance even though they are labelled “reserva.” Have a lawyer read the actual clauses.
What happens if I withdraw after signing an arras contract?
Under Article 1454 of the Civil Code, if the buyer withdraws from an arras penitenciales contract, the buyer loses the deposit already paid to the seller.
What happens if the seller withdraws after I’ve paid arras?
Under the same provision, if the seller withdraws, the seller must return double the deposit received from the buyer.
Does calling a contract “reserva” mean it isn’t legally binding?
No. The name on the document does not determine its legal effect — the actual clauses do. A document labelled “reserva” can still function as a binding arras contract if its wording matches that structure.
Should a lawyer review the contract before I sign either type?
Yes. Reviewing the exact clauses before signing is the only reliable way to know what happens if either side withdraws — and it costs far less than discovering the answer after a dispute has already started.
This is exactly why the distinction matters: Spain gives buyers no statutory cooling-off period, so the contract you sign is what actually protects you instead.